Many Uber drivers are planning to boycott the service after fare cuts in over 100 cities have left some earning wages well below both state and federal minimums, even after hours of work. Drivers have reported earning between $2.89 and $3.22 per hour, before operating costs like vehicle cleaning and fuel are taken into account. Drivers who rent their vehicles from Uber make $0 per hour. Some Uber drivers have begun to defect to competitor Lyft, while others have staged protest rallies, organized boycotts and begun the “Uber Driver Strike for Fair Wages.” Uber fares have been cut by as much as 45 percent in some citie,s and drivers report turning away clients who are too far away from them, or refusing to wait for clients who are even slightly late, since the $5 cancellation fee is often more than they would receive for driving a client. (Observer)
Downtown Manhattan will receive $176 million in federal funding to construct flood prevention measures, well short of over $500 million the city had initially requested. Although the details of the plan are unclear, it could involve both temporary flood walls and permanent, anti-inundation earthen berms, and would wrap from Montgomery Street on the Lower East Side around Battery Park City. The city allocated a separate $100 million for flood prevention in August. (Gothamist)
Although forecasts are still uncertain, a swath of the East Coast from Washington to Boston could be pounded by one to two feet of snow on Friday and into the weekend, the National Weather Service reported. So far this season, New York has received 6.5 fewer inches of snow below average, while Boston has received a total of 12.9 inches of snow below average. The storm is unlikely to be record-breaking but could be classified as a blizzard, although it is too early to make exact estimates. (New York Times)
A developer in Harlem is planning to demolish a former Pentecostal church on 133rd Street and replace it with a mixed-use facility comprising 46 apartments and a large medical office. The developer, Levi Balkany, filed demolition permits on Jan. 13, almost a month after his proposal for a new 11-story building was rejected by the Department of Buildings due to “incomplete drawings.” Morning Star Pentecostal Church, which had occupied the space prior to its sale to Mr. Balkany, has moved to Edgecombe Avenue. The church received numerous violations and was given a vacate order in 2012. (DNAinfo)
Fans of sexting and disgraced politicians can rejoice. The documentary Weiner, filmed while the former congressman and frequent sexual text message sender Anthony Weiner was campaigning for mayor in 2013, is set to premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on Sunday. The film follows both Mr. Weiner and his wife, Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin, throughout the campaign, which he had hoped would see him elected as mayor of the country’s largest city (in reality, he came in fifth in the Democratic primary with under 5 percent of the vote). It joins 13 Hours, an action film about the 2012 attack on the American consulate in Libya, in a growing list of 2016 films that could be damaging to the Clinton campaign. (New York)
